Wide field of view hybrid holographic display

ABSTRACT

A display for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV) scene including a holographic image within the scene, including a first Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) and an optical system for producing a first holographic image at a center of a displayed scene, and a second image display for producing at least a first additional image adjacent to the first holographic image. In some embodiments an augmented reality display is used for the displaying of the first holographic image at the center of a field of view and the second image adjacent to the first holographic image. In some embodiments a virtual reality display is used for the displaying of the first holographic image near the center of a field of view and the second image adjacent to the first holographic image. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/078,638 filed on Aug. 22, 2018, which is a National Phase of PCTPatent Application No. PCT/IL2017/050224 having International FilingDate of Feb. 22, 2017, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC§ 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Applications Nos. 62/298,070 filedon Feb. 22, 2016 and 62/410,494 filed on Oct. 20, 2016. The contents ofthe above applications are all incorporated by reference as if fully setforth herein in their entirety.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to aholographic display with a wide field of view, and, more particularly,but not exclusively, to a display displaying a holographic image at acenter of a field of view, surrounded by a second, different imagesurrounding the holographic image further away from the center of thefield of view.

The disclosures of all references mentioned above and throughout thepresent specification, as well as the disclosures of all referencesmentioned in those references, are hereby incorporated herein byreference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of some embodiments of the invention involves displaying afirst holographic image near a center of a field of view, and a second,different image adjacent to the first holographic image.

In some embodiments the second image surrounds the first holographicimage.

In some embodiments an augmented reality display is used for thedisplaying of the first holographic image near the center of a field ofview and the second image adjacent to the first holographic image.

In some embodiments a virtual reality display is used for the displayingof the first holographic image near the center of a field of view andthe second image adjacent to the first holographic image.

In some embodiments an augmented reality display is used for thedisplaying which additionally lets in a view of the real world in atleast part of the field of view.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a display for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including a holographic image within the scene, including a firstSpatial Light Modulator (SLM) and an optical system for producing afirst holographic image at a center of a displayed scene, and a secondimage display for producing at least a first additional image adjacentto the first holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system isconfigured to display the first holographic image spanning a Field ofView (FoV) of a human fovea.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system isconfigured to display the first holographic image spanning an angle in arange of 5-35 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including aviewer pupil tracking component for tracking the viewer's pupil andwherein the viewer pupil tracking component provides data forcontrolling the first Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) and the opticalsystem for displaying the first holographic image to the viewer's pupil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the second image displayincludes a lower spatial resolution display than the first SLM.According to some embodiments of the invention, the second image displayis configured to display a lower spatial resolution image than the firstSLM. According to some embodiments of the invention, the second imagedisplay includes a display for producing a stereoscopic image. Accordingto some embodiments of the invention, the second image display includesan SLM for producing a holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system forproducing the first holographic image and the second image display forproducing the first additional image are configured to display the firstholographic image and the first additional image spanning an angle in arange of 60-110 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including athird image display for producing at least a second additional image.According to some embodiments of the invention, the third image displayfor producing the second additional image produces the second additionalimage adjacent to the first additional image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system forproducing the first holographic image and the second image display andthe third image display are configured to display the first holographicimage and the first additional image and the second additional imagespanning an angle in a range of 60-110 degrees. According to someembodiments of the invention, the third image display includes a displayfor producing a stereoscopic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the first SLM and theoptical system for producing the first holographic image includes twoSLMs and two optical systems, for producing two first holographicimages, one for each one of a viewer's two eyes, and the second imagedisplay for producing the at least a first additional image adjacent tothe first holographic image includes two second image displays forproducing at least two first additional images each one adjacent to eachone of the first holographic images.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the two SLMs, the twooptical systems, and the two image displays are configured to displaythe first holographic image and the first additional image to theviewer's two eyes spanning an angle in a range of 90-200 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the display describedabove are included in a Head Mounted Display (HMD).

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a display for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including a holographic image within the scene, including a firstSpatial Light Modulator (SLM) and an optical system for producing afirst holographic image, and a second image display for producing atleast a first additional image adjacent to the first holographic image.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including a holographic image within the scene, includingdisplaying a first holographic image at a center of a displayed scene,and displaying a first additional image as part of the displayed sceneand adjacent to the first holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image includes using a first Spatial Light Modulator (SLM)and an optical system for producing the first holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image includes displaying the first holographic image tospan a Field of View (FoV) of a human fovea.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image includes displaying the first holographic image tospan an angle in a range of 5-35 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further includingtracking a viewer's pupil, and controlling the displaying the firstholographic image to display the first holographic image to the viewer'spupil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the first additionalimage includes a lower spatial resolution display than the firstholographic image. According to some embodiments of the invention, thefirst additional image includes a stereoscopic image. According to someembodiments of the invention, the first additional image includes aholographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further includingdisplaying a second additional image. According to some embodiments ofthe invention, the second additional image is displayed adjacent to thefirst additional image. According to some embodiments of the invention,the second additional image includes a stereoscopic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image and the first additional image is performed by a HeadMounted Display (HMD).

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying a firstholographic image at a center of a displayed scene includes displayingtwo first holographic images each one at a center of a displayed sceneto each one of two eyes, and the displaying a first additional imageadjacent to the first holographic image includes displaying two firstadditional images, each one adjacent to each one of the firstholographic images.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including a holographic image within the scene, including settingpixel values in a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) for producing a ComputerGenerated Hologram (CGH), illuminating the SLM with coherent light,thereby producing a first holographic image, setting pixel values in afirst additional image display for producing a second, additional image,and illuminating the first additional image display, thereby producing asecond additional image, wherein the first holographic image isdisplayed at a center of a scene, and the second additional image isdisplayed as part of the scene and adjacent to the first holographicimage.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further includingtracking a viewer's pupil, and controlling the displaying the firstholographic image to display the first holographic image to the viewer'spupil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the second additionalimage includes a lower spatial resolution display than the firstholographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the second additionalimage includes a stereoscopic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the first additionalimage display includes a SLM and the first additional image includes aholographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including asecond additional image display and using the second additional imagedisplay for displaying a third additional image adjacent to the secondadditional image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image and the second additional image is performed by a HeadMounted Display (HMD).

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image at the center of a scene includes displaying two firstholographic images each one at a center of a displayed scene to each oneof two eyes, and the displaying the second additional image adjacent tothe first holographic image includes displaying two first additionalimages, each one adjacent to each one of the first holographic images.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including an interference based holographic image within thescene, including setting pixel values in a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM)for producing a Computer Generated Hologram (CGH), illuminating the SLMwith coherent light, thereby producing a first interference basedholographic image, setting pixel values in a first additional imagedisplay for producing a first additional image, illuminating the firstadditional image display, thereby producing a first additional image,and allowing a real view of a real world to be viewable through andaround the first holographic image and the first additional image,wherein the first holographic image is projected toward a viewer'sfovea, the first additional image is displayed as part of the scene andadjacent to the first holographic image, and the real view of a realworld is also viewable as part of the scene.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further includingtracking a viewer's pupil, and controlling the displaying the firstholographic image to display the first holographic image to the viewer'spupil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the first additionalimage includes a lower spatial resolution display than the firstholographic image. According to some embodiments of the invention, thefirst additional image includes a stereoscopic image. According to someembodiments of the invention, the first additional image includes a 2Dimage. According to some embodiments of the invention, the firstadditional image includes an interference based holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image and the first additional image is performed by a HeadMounted Display (HMD).

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including asecond additional image display and using the second additional imagedisplay for displaying a second additional image adjacent to the firstadditional image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image includes displaying two first holographic images eachone to each one of two eyes, and the displaying the second additionalimage adjacent to the first holographic image includes displaying twofirst additional images, each one adjacent to each one of the firstholographic images.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a hybrid display for displaying a wide Field of View(FoV) scene including an interference based holographic image within thescene, including a head mounted display (HMD) including a first SpatialLight Modulator (SLM) for producing a first interference basedholographic image, an optical system for imaging the first holographicimage on a controllable tilting mirror, and re-imaging the firstholographic image toward a viewer's fovea, a second image display forproducing at least a first additional real-time computer generatedimage, located adjacent to the controllable tilting mirror, arranged todisplay the first additional image adjacent to the first holographicimage, and wherein the optical system is arranged to allow the viewer areal view of a real world through the optical system, thereby combininga view of the first holographic image, the first additional image andthe real world.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including afocusing component for focusing light from the SLM onto a Fourier plane,and wherein the second image display is located at the Fourier plane.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system isconfigured to display the first holographic image spanning a Field ofView (FoV) of a human fovea.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including aviewer pupil tracking component for tracking the viewer's pupil andwherein the viewer pupil tracking component provides data forcontrolling the first Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) and the opticalsystem for displaying the first holographic image to the viewer's pupil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the second image displayincludes a lower spatial resolution display than the first SLM.According to some embodiments of the invention, the second image displayincludes a display for producing a stereoscopic image. According to someembodiments of the invention, the second image display includes an SLMfor producing a holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system forproducing the first holographic image and the second image display forproducing the first additional image are configured to display the firstholographic image and the first additional image spanning together atotal angle in a range of 60-110 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including athird image display for producing at least a second additional image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system forproducing the first holographic image and the second image display andthe third image display are configured to display the first holographicimage and the first additional image and the second additional imagespanning together a total angle in a range of 60-110 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the first SLM and theoptical system for producing the first holographic image includes twoSLMs and two optical systems, for producing two first holographicimages, one for each one of a viewer's two eyes, and the second imagedisplay for producing the at least a first additional image adjacent tothe first holographic image includes two second image displays forproducing at least two first additional images each one adjacent to eachone of the first holographic images.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the two SLMs, the twooptical systems, and the two image displays are configured to displaythe first holographic image and the first additional image to theviewer's two eyes spanning an angle in a range of 90-200 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, included in a HeadMounted Display (HMD).

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a display for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including a holographic image within the scene, including a firstSpatial Light Modulator (SLM) and an optical system for producing afirst holographic image at a center of a displayed scene, and an imagedisplay for producing at least a first additional image adjacent to thefirst holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the image display forproducing at least a first additional image adjacent to the firstholographic image is the first SLM, configured for also producing asecond interference based holographic image adjacent to the firstholographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system isconfigured to display the first holographic image spanning a Field ofView (FoV) of a human fovea.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system isconfigured to display the first holographic image spanning an angle in arange of 5-35 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including aviewer pupil tracking component for tracking the viewer's pupil andwherein the viewer pupil tracking component provides data forcontrolling the first Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) and the opticalsystem for displaying the first holographic image to the viewer's pupil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including asecond image display for producing the first additional image adjacentto the first holographic image, in which the second image displayincludes a display for producing a stereoscopic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the second image displayincludes an SLM for producing an interference based holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the optical system forproducing the first holographic image and the image display forproducing the first additional image are configured to display the firstholographic image and the first additional image spanning an angle in arange of 60-110 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the first SLM and theoptical system for producing the first holographic image includes twoSLMs and two optical systems, for producing two first holographicimages, one for each one of a viewer's two eyes, and the image displayfor producing the at least a first additional image adjacent to thefirst holographic image includes two image displays for producing atleast two first additional images each one adjacent to each one of thefirst holographic images.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the two SLMs, the twooptical systems, and the two image displays are configured to displaythe first holographic image and the first additional image to theviewer's two eyes spanning an angle in a range of 90-200 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the display is includedin a Head Mounted Display (HMD).

According to some embodiments of the invention, further including theoptical system enabling a real view of a real world through the opticalsystem, thereby combining a view of the first holographic image, thefirst additional image and the real world.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a display for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including an interference based holographic image within thescene, including a first Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) and an opticalsystem for producing a first interference based holographic image, and asecond image display for producing at least a first additional imageadjacent to the first holographic image.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including an interference based holographic image within thescene, including displaying a first interference based holographicimage, and displaying a first additional image as part of the displayedscene and adjacent to the first holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, a display for displayingthe first additional image is located next to a location of the firstholographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image includes displaying the first holographic image at acenter of a displayed scene.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image includes using a first Spatial Light Modulator (SLM)and an optical system for producing the first holographic image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image includes displaying the first holographic image to aviewer's span a Field of View (FoV) of a human fovea.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstholographic image includes displaying the first holographic image tospan an angle in a range of 5-35 degrees.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the displaying the firstadditional image includes displaying the first additional image to aviewer's retina outside a fovea of an eye of the viewer.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further includingdisplaying a second additional image. According to some embodiments ofthe invention, the second additional image is displayed adjacent to thefirst additional image.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further includingenabling a real view of a real world to be viewable through and aroundthe first holographic image and the first additional image, wherein thefirst holographic image is displayed at a center of a scene, the secondadditional image is displayed as part of the scene and adjacent to thefirst holographic image, and the real view of a real world is alsoviewable as part of the scene.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the second additionalimage includes a stereoscopic image.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV)scene including a holographic image within the scene, including settingpixel values in a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) for producing a ComputerGenerated Hologram (CGH), illuminating the SLM with coherent light,thereby producing a first interference based holographic image, settingpixel values in a first additional image display for producing a secondimage, and illuminating the first additional image display, therebyproducing a second additional image, wherein the first holographic imageis displayed at a center of a scene, and the second additional image isdisplayed as part of the scene and adjacent to the first holographicimage.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further includingtracking a viewer's pupil, and controlling the displaying the firstholographic image to display the first holographic image to the viewer'spupil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, further includingallowing a real view of a real world to be viewable around the firstholographic image and the second, additional image, wherein the firstholographic image is displayed at a center of a scene, the secondadditional image is displayed as part of the scene and adjacent to thefirst holographic image, and the real view of a real world is alsoviewable as part of the scene.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the allowing the realview of a real world to be viewable around the first holographic imageand the second, additional image includes allowing the real view of areal world to be viewable through and around the first holographic imageand the second, additional image.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used inthe practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplarymethods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, thepatent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition,the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are notintended to be necessarily limiting.

Implementation of the method and/or system of embodiments of theinvention can involve performing or completing selected tasks manually,automatically, or a combination thereof. Moreover, according to actualinstrumentation and equipment of embodiments of the method and/or systemof the invention, several selected tasks could be implemented byhardware, by software or by firmware or by a combination thereof usingan operating system.

For example, hardware for performing selected tasks according toembodiments of the invention could be implemented as a chip or acircuit. As software, selected tasks according to embodiments of theinvention could be implemented as a plurality of software instructionsbeing executed by a computer using any suitable operating system. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, one or more tasks according toexemplary embodiments of method and/or system as described herein areperformed by a data processor, such as a computing platform forexecuting a plurality of instructions. Optionally, the data processorincludes a volatile memory for storing instructions and/or data and/or anon-volatile storage, for example, a magnetic hard-disk and/or removablemedia, for storing instructions and/or data. Optionally, a networkconnection is provided as well. A display and/or a user input devicesuch as a keyboard or mouse are optionally provided as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specificreference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that theparticulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrativediscussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, thedescription taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled inthe art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1A is a simplified illustration of a various portions of a Field ofView (FoV) of an eye relative to a center of the FoV, according to anexample embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1B is a simplified illustration of two eyes viewing a display, andvarious portions of their FoV relative to centers of their FoV,according to an example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1C is a simplified illustration of two eyes viewing a display, andvarious portions of their FoV according to an example embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2A is a simplified example of a display system for displaying ascene combining a central portion of the scene near a center of a FoVdisplayed as a holographic image from a holographic image display,surrounded by an additional portion of the scene displayed as anadditional image from an additional display, according to an exampleembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 2B-2F are simplified line drawing illustrations of producing ascene according to an example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3A is a simplified illustration of portions of Fields of View of aviewer's left eye, according to an example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3B is a simplified illustration of portions of Fields of View of aviewer's combined left and right eye vision, according to an exampleembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3C is a simplified illustration of portions of a Field of View of aviewer's left eye, according to an example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a simplified line drawing illustration of illumination fieldsor regions for the SLM of FIG. 2A and the image display of FIG. 2A,according to an example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a simplified example of a display system for displaying ascene combining a central portion of the scene near a center of a FoVdisplayed as a holographic image from a holographic image display,surrounded by an additional portion of the scene displayed as anadditional image from an additional display, according to an exampleembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a simplified flow chart illustration of a method fordisplaying a wide Field of View (FoV) scene including a holographicimage within the scene; and

FIG. 7 is a simplified flow chart illustration of a method fordisplaying a wide Field of View (FoV) scene including an interferencebased holographic image within the scene, according to an exampleembodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to aholographic display with a wide field of view, and, more particularly,but not exclusively, to a display displaying a first holographic imageat a center of a field of view, adjacent to a second, different imagefurther away from the center of the field of view.

In some embodiments the second image surrounds the first holographicimage.

In some embodiments an augmented reality display is used for thedisplaying of the first holographic image near the center of a field ofview, and the second image adjacent to the first holographic image.

In some embodiments a virtual reality display is used for the displayingof the first holographic image near the center of a field of view, andthe second image adjacent to the first holographic image.

The term “holographic image” in the present specification and claims isused to mean an interference based holographic image, that is, aninterference based holographic image produced by light interacting witha fringe pattern.

The term “adjacent”, when used in the present specification and claimswith reference to an image being adjacent to another image, means“nearby visually”. The term can mean adjacent and touching or adjacentbut not touching. The term can mean adjacent in any one of the threedirections—azimuth, elevation or distance/depth.

Overview

Three dimensional (3D) display is an emerging technology, as is 3D HeadMounted Display (HMD). Current 3D HMDs are based on stereoscopic 3Ddisplay. However, in stereoscopic 3D displays a scene is actually atfocus at one specific distance, and fools the eye into perceivingdistance based on eye convergence. Such displays do not provide an eyewith an eye focus accommodation depth cue, resulting in a confusingappearance of a 3D object, resulting in what known in the literature asvergence-accommodation conflict that reduces the viewing and interactionuser experience that can sometimes result with nausea or headache forthe user.

A holographic display is an optically true display which presents lightwith light wave phase and intensity information the same as light comingoff a real object/scene, for example including all the natural depthcues which are provided by real objects in the real world, such as, byway of a non-limiting example, eye focus accommodation and eyeconvergence potentially eliminating the vergence-accommodation conflict.

Due to a large pixel size of a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) relative tooptical wavelengths, a Field of View (FoV) of a Computer GeneratedHolographic (CGH) image produced by a SLM is relatively narrow. In someembodiments a wide FoV is achieved by displaying a central holographicimage adjacent to, and/or peripheral to, and/or surrounded by one ormore additional images, producing a scene with a wider FoV than just thecentral holographic image, potentially providing a benefit of a wide FoVdisplay.

Some embodiments of the present invention take advantage of the eyefocus accommodation cue being mostly relevant at the center of the FoV,up to approximately 10 degrees from the FoV center, which is also wherea human viewer's fovea lies. Away from the center of the human FoVstereoscopic display, some embodiments take advantage of the humanvision poor ability to use eye focus accommodation. Apparently, outsidethe human fovea, spatial resolution is poorer, depth resolutiondecreases, and eye focus accommodation does not play a role, or playsless of a role, in human perception.

Some embodiments of the invention present an image type which providesmore depth cues in one portion of a scene, such as a portion of thescene near a center of the FoV of a viewer, and another image or imagesof other types, which provide less depth cues, in other portions of thescene.

Some embodiments of the invention present an image type which providesmore resolution in one portion of a scene, such as a portion of thescene near a center of the FoV of a viewer, and another image or imagesof other types, which provide less resolution, in other portions of thescene.

Some embodiments of the invention use a holographic display fordisplaying a greater number of depth cues, for example both eye focusaccommodation and eye convergence, a stereoscopic display for providingan eye convergence cue, and a monoscopic display for providing even lessdepth cues.

In some embodiments, portions of an image which are close and center areoptionally displayed with both eye focus accommodation and eyeconvergence, portions of an image which are farther from a viewer, orless near a center of the scene may optionally be displayed with an eyeconvergence cue of a stereoscopic image.

Depth perception by human eye focus accommodation is typically performedat distances between approximately 0.15 and 3 meters from a viewer,optionally between approximately 0.3 and 2 meters from the viewer. Insome embodiments of the invention a holographic image at the center of ahuman field of view provides a depth cue of eye focus accommodation,while a surrounding, optionally stereoscopic, image is produced withfocus at a plane approximately 2 meters away from the viewer.

In some embodiments the focus plane of the surrounding image isoptionally adjusted or controlled by adjusting one or more opticalcomponents, such as a lens.

Because the eye resolution at a FoV outside of the fovea is poorer thanwithin the FoV of the fovea, the depth of focus and depth resolution ofthe surrounding image is poorer. In some embodiments a surrounding imagedisplay optionally presents images, optionally at a focus plane of 0.15to 3 meters, optionally using stereoscopic illusion. A combination of aHolographic image at a center of the FoV and surrounding image displaypotentially appears natural to a viewer.

In some embodiments a holographic image is displayed with a span takingup a field of view of 20 degrees, which is larger than a field of viewof a human fovea. In some embodiments tracking a pupil and projecting aholographic image on a pupil is enough to enable at least a portion ofthe holographic image to be viewed by the fovea, and for the holographicimage to appear to a human viewer at a portion of the field of viewwhich provides sharpest acuity of vision.

In some embodiments, at an outer edge of the FoV, away from the fovea,even monoscopic display, providing no eye convergence is optionallydisplayed. Such a display potentially still appears natural to theviewer. By way of a non-limiting example, some of the scene is actuallyviewed by only one eye.

An aspect of the present invention includes displaying a portion of ascene with higher spatial resolution and/or depth cues near a center ofa viewer's FoV, surrounded by one or more portions of the scene furtheraway from the center of the viewer's FoV, optionally with lowerresolution and/or providing less or no depth cues.

An aspect of the present invention includes displaying a holographicimage near a center of a viewer's FoV, surrounded by and/or adjacent toa non-holographic image optionally further away from the center.

In some embodiments the non-holographic image is a stereoscopic image.

An aspect of the present invention includes displaying a higherresolution holographic image near a center of a viewer's FoV, surroundedby a lower resolution holographic image.

An aspect of the present invention includes displaying a holographicimage near a center of a viewer's FoV, surrounded by and/or adjacent toa first image and surrounded still further, and/or adjacent to yetanother second non-holographic image.

In some embodiments the central holographic image is a higher resolutionholographic image and the first image is a lower resolution holographicimage.

In some embodiments the first image is a stereoscopic image.

In some embodiments the second non-holographic image is a monoscopicimage.

In some embodiments a combination between different parts of FoV isrealized, where at a center of the FoV an image with optionally alldepth cues is displayed, while at greater angles away from the center ofthe FoV only a stereoscopic image is presented, and at the edge of theFoV optionally only a monoscopic image is presented.

In some embodiments a holographic display is used to display and/orproject at the center of the FoV, and a non-holographic imaging systemsuch as a LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) or a LC (Liquid Crystal)display is combined to be viewed at a wider angle from the center of theFoV.

An aspect of the present invention relates to optionally tracking aviewer's pupil, and projecting the holographic display approximately tothe center of the pupil. By maintaining the holographic display at thecenter of the FoV of the viewer, even when the eye changes direction,the image at surrounding portions of the FoV can be displayed at a lowerresolution.

In some embodiments the lower resolution display potentially reducescomplexity and/or computation time and or optical component qualityneeded for producing the surrounding image, potentially involving use ofa lower-computation power and/or lower speed computation module forproducing the surrounding image.

In some embodiments the lower resolution display includes an SLM withlarger pixels. In some embodiments a holographic display is used todisplay and/or project to the fovea, and the surrounding display toproject to some or all of the rest of the FoV.

In some embodiments a holographic display is used to display and/orproject a holographic image to the fovea and to a surrounding area, toallow for small movements of the eye without the fovea viewing outsidethe central holographic scene.

In some embodiments, an angular span of the central holographic image isin a range between 2 degrees and 10 or 25 or even 45 degrees or more.

In some embodiments boundaries between the central holographic image anda surrounding image, and/or between the surrounding image and even moreperipheral images, are displayed with an accuracy of a pixel. That is,the scene displayed in a surrounding image is a continuation of themore-central image at an accuracy of a pixel of the surrounding image.By way of a non-limiting example, lines which exist in the more-centralimage are continued in the surrounding, potentially lower resolutionimage, with an accuracy of a pixel.

In some embodiments boundaries between the central holographic image anda surrounding image, and/or between the surrounding image and even moreperipheral images, are displayed with a sub-pixel accuracy. That is, thescene displayed in a surrounding image is a continuation of themore-central image at a sub-pixel accuracy of the surrounding image. Byway of a non-limiting example, lines which exist in the more-centralimage are continued in the surrounding, potentially lower resolutionimage, with a sub-pixel accuracy.

In some embodiments boundaries between the central holographic image anda surrounding image, and/or between the surrounding image and even moreperipheral images, are displayed so as not to be emphasized by aviewer's vision. In some embodiments at least a boundary portion of thesurrounding image and/or the more central image is blurred, and or pixelvalues in at least the boundary portions are interpolated.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement of thecomponents and/or methods set forth in the following description and/orillustrated in the drawings and/or the Examples. The invention iscapable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out invarious ways.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1A, which is a simplified illustration ofa various portions of a Field of View of an eye relative to a center ofthe FoV, according to an example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1A shows an eye 101 with a direction of a center 105 of its FoVmarked.

FIG. 1A depicts a first, inner section 108 of the FoV subtending a firstangle 109 around the direction of the center 105 of the FoV, and asecond, larger section of the FoV 110 subtending a second, larger angle,section 111 around the direction of the center 105 of the FoV.

In some embodiments the first, inner section 108 of the FoV optionallysubtends an angle of approximately 10 degrees from the FoV center 105,which approximately corresponds to the FoV of a human viewer's fovea. Insome embodiment the first, inner section 108 of the FoV optionallysubtends an angle of approximately 1 degree, 2 degrees, 3 degrees, 5degrees, 7 degrees, 9 degrees, 11 degrees, 13 degrees, 15 degrees, 17degrees, 19 degrees, 21 degrees, 23 degrees, 25 degrees, 27 degrees, 29degrees, 31 degrees and 33 degrees from the FoV center 105.

In some embodiments the second section 111 of the FoV optionallysubtends an angle of approximately 60 to 110 degrees across, from sideto side.

In some embodiments a central area of an image which is to display a CGHimage is implemented as a circular area and/or as an oval area,optionally covering the area of the fovea or larger, while in someembodiments the central area of an image which is to display a CGH imageis implemented as a square or a rectangular area, optionally coveringthe area of the fovea or larger.

In some embodiments a surrounding area of an image which is to display alower resolution and/or a non-holographic image is implemented as acircular area and/or as an oval area surrounding the central area, whilein some embodiments the surrounding area of the image which is todisplay the lower resolution and/or non-holographic image is implementedas a square or a rectangular area.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1B, which is a simplified illustration oftwo eyes 101 a 101 b viewing a display 103 a 103 b, and various portionsof their FoV relative to centers 105 a 105 b of their FoV, according toan example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B shows two eyes 101 a 101 b, each with a direction of a center105 a 105 b of its FoV marked. FIG. 1B shows a non-limiting exampleembodiment where the two eyes' direction of the center 105 a 105 b oftheir FoV converge at a point 104 at a distance 102 from the eyes 101 a101 b.

FIG. 1B depicts first, inner sections of the FoV depicted in FIG. 1A,subtending first angles 109 a 109 b around the direction of the centers105 a 105 b of the FoV, and second, larger sections of the FoVsubtending second, larger angles 111 a 111 b around the directions ofthe centers 105 a 105 b of the FoVs of the eyes 101 a 101 b.

FIG. 1B also shows displays 103 a 103 b in front of the eyes 101 a 101b, which are designed to display an image or images to the eyes 101 a101 b.

FIG. 1B illustrates various non-limiting example regions of a viewer'sFoV: a first region 113 where both eyes 101 a 101 b see with the firstinner sections of the FoV; second regions 115 a 115 b, where both eyes101 a 101 b see with the second outer sections of the FoV; and thirdregions 117 a 117 b, where only one eye sees with the second outersection of the FoV and the other does not see.

In some embodiments the field of view of the two eyes 101 a 101 bviewing the first region 113 optionally subtends an angle ofapproximately 10 degrees side to side. In some embodiments the firstregion 113 optionally subtends an angle of approximately 2-66 degreesside to side.

In some embodiments a total field of view of the two eyes 101 a 101 bviewing the first, second and third regions 113 115 a 115 b 117 a 117 boptionally extends an angle of approximately 150-200 degrees across,from side to side.

In some embodiments the three regions 113 115(a,b) 117(a,b) exactlyborder each other, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the first inner sections ofthe FoV of both eyes exactly overlap and have a common outer border.When the first inner sections of the FoV of both eyes do not exactlyoverlap additional regions can be defined. A person skilled in the art,having studied the present document, will understand the additionalregions and options for display to the regions. In some embodiments thethree regions 113 115(a,b) 117(a,b) do not exactly border each other andadditional regions (not shown) can be defined.

In some embodiments the regions 113 115 a 115 b 117 a 117 b of FIG. 1Bcorrespond to regions suitable for displaying:

at the first region 113 a portion of a scene with optionally all depthcues, such as, for example, a holographic image;

at the second region 115 a 115 b a portion of an scene with less depthcues, such as, by way of a non-limiting example, a stereoscopic image,or a lower-resolution holographic image; and

at the third region 117 a 117 b a portion of a scene with even lessdepth cues or resolution, such as, by way of a non-limiting example amonoscopic image.

It is noted that FIG. 1B shows example FoV regions and display schemesfor corresponding scene portions, however, similar FoV regions anddisplay schemes for corresponding scene portions may be implemented to adisplay for a single eye.

Reference is now made again to FIG. 1A. In some embodiments the regions108 110 of FIG. 1A correspond to regions suitable for displaying:

at the first region 108 a portion of a scene with optionally all depthcues, such as, for example, a holographic image; and

at the second region 110 a portion of a scene with less depth cues, suchas, by way of a non-limiting example, a stereoscopic image, or alower-resolution holographic image.

In some embodiments, a third region (not shown in FIG. 1A) lying aroundthe second region 110 a portion of a scene with even less depth cues orresolution, such as, by way of a non-limiting example a monoscopicimage, is displayed.

The following terms are hereby defined for use in the presentapplication and

a central portion of a Field of View of an eye;

an in-side of a more-peripheral portion of a Field of View of an eye,where in-side refers to a nasal direction, or an inner side, between twoeyes of a viewer; and

an out-side of a more-peripheral portion of a Field of View of an eye,where out-side refers to a temporal direction, opposite the nasaldirection, or an outer side opposite a mid-point between the eyes.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1C, which is a simplified illustration oftwo eyes 101 a 101 b viewing a display 103 a 103 b, and various portionsof their FoV according to an example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1C depicts:

a first region 121 where a central portion of the FoV of both of theeyes 101 a 101 b overlaps;

a second region 122 where a central portion of the FoV of a first one ofthe eyes 101 a 101 b overlaps an in-side more-peripheral portion of theFoV of a second one of the eyes 101 a 101 b;

a third region 123 where an out-side more-peripheral portion of the FoVof a first one of the eyes 101 a 101 b overlaps an in-sidemore-peripheral portion of the FoV of a second one of the eyes 101 a 101b; and

a fourth region 124 where an out-side more-peripheral portion of the FoVof a first one of the eyes 101 a 101 b does see, but the FoV of a secondone of the eyes 101 a 101 b does not see.

The first region 121, the second region 122, the third region 123 andthe fourth region 124 are depicted at a typical distance from the eyes101 a 101 b and the displays 103 a 103 b where a scene is displayed.

FIG. 1C also depicts various portions of Fields of View of the eyes 101a 101 b at a closer distance than the typical distance from the eyes 101a 101 b and the displays 103 a 103 b than the first region 121, thesecond region 122, the third region 123 and the fourth region 124.

The closer portions of the FoV include, by way of some none-limitingexamples:

a fifth region 125 where an in-side more-peripheral portion of the FoVof a first one of the eyes 101 a 101 b overlaps an in-sidemore-peripheral portion of the FoV of a second one of the eyes 101 a 101b;

a sixth region 126 where a central portion of the FoV of a first one ofthe eyes 101 a 101 b does see, but the FoV of a second one of the eyes101 a 101 b does not see;

a seventh region 127 where an in-side more-peripheral portion of the FoVof a first one of the eyes 101 a 101 b does see, but the FoV of a secondone of the eyes 101 a 101 b does not see; and

an eighth region 124 n where an out-side more-peripheral portion of theFoV of a first one of the eyes 101 a 101 b does see, but the FoV of asecond one of the eyes 101 a 101 b does not see.

In some embodiments:

the first region 121 displays a CGH image;

the second region 122 displays a scene using a stereoscopic image, thatis, an slightly shifted image of the scene displayed to each eye; and

the third region 123 and the fourth region 124 displays a scene using amonoscopic image.

In some embodiments the field of view of the two eyes 101 a 101 bviewing the first region 121 optionally subtends an angle ofapproximately 25 degrees side to side. In some embodiments the firstregion 121 optionally subtends an angle of approximately 2-66 degreesside to side.

In some embodiments a total field of view of the two eyes 101 a 101 bviewing the first, second, third and fourth regions 121 122 123 124optionally extends an angle of approximately 150, 180, 200 and even 220degrees and more across, from side to side.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2A, which is a simplified example of adisplay system 200 for displaying a scene combining a central portion ofthe scene near a center of a FoV displayed as a holographic image from aholographic image display, surrounded by an additional portion of thescene displayed as an additional image from an additional display,according to an example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A shows one example embodiment for implementing the concept of ascene including a central holographic image surrounded by one or moreadditional images.

FIG. 2A shows components of the example embodiment: a Spatial LightModulator (SLM) 201; optional optical components 202; a firstsemi-transparent mirror 203; an image display 204; a mirror 205; asecond semi-transparent mirror 206; and a third semi-transparent mirror207.

An example light path through the display system 200 is now described:

The SLM 201 projects light 211 (in some embodiments reflected light, insome embodiments light transferred through the SLM 201) modulated toproduce a holographic image. The light 211 from the SLM may be at asingle wavelength, that is one color, or more wavelengths, by way of anon-limiting example three colors. An example of producing a holographicimage using three colors is described in above-mentioned U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/298,070.

The light 211 optionally passes through the optional optical components202, as light 212, emerging as light 213 for producing a holographicimage.

The light 213 passes through the first semi-transparent mirror 203 andthrough the second semi-transparent mirror 206, emerging as light 214for producing a holographic image.

The light 214 for producing a holographic image is reflected back fromthe mirror 205, through the second semi-transparent mirror 206 and ontothe first semi-transparent mirror 203.

Additional light 215 from the image display 204 is projected toward thesecond semi-transparent mirror 206, and is reflected 215 a from thesecond semi-transparent mirror 206 onto the first semi-transparentmirror 203. The additional light 215 a from the image display 204 andthe light 214 for producing a holographic image are now traveling towarda same direction and through the same optical components.

Light 216, which is a combination of the additional light 215 a from theimage display 204 and the light 214, is reflected from the firstsemi-transparent mirror 203 toward the third semi-transparent mirror207. The light is then reflected from the third semi-transparent mirror207 as light 217 to the viewer's eye 208. The viewer's eye 208 sees ascene which is a combination of a CGH image produced by the SLM and anadditional image produced by the image display 204, the scene appearingto be in a direction 218 in front of the viewer's eye 208.

In some embodiments the viewer's eye 208 can view a scene which is acombination of a CGH image produced by the SLM, an additional imageproduced by the image display 204, and a view of the real world throughthe third semi-transparent mirror 207, the scene appearing to be in adirection 218 in front of the viewer's eye 208.

In some embodiments, the image display 204 projects light, for examplethe image display 204 may be, by way of a non-limiting example, an LCDdisplay with LED lights transmitting through the LCD display.

In some embodiments, illumination for the image display 204 may beprojected along and optionally through the same components as the lightprojected from the SLM 211, and eventually be reflected off the secondsemi-transparent mirror 206 onto the image display 204, which reflectsthe light as the additional light 215.

In some embodiments the image display 204 reflects or projects an imageonly in portions of a scene in which the CGH does not appear.

In some embodiments such limiting of an image displayed by the imagedisplay 204 is optionally done by switching off pixels which wouldappear at the portion of the scene where the CGH image appears.

In some embodiments the light illuminating the image display 204 isoptionally the same light source producing the CGH image, or from alight source adjacent to the light source producing the CGH image, whichmay also optionally additionally pass through a diffuser, to reducepotential speckles due to interference if coherent light was usedwithout a diffuser.

In some embodiments the first semi-transparent mirror 203 is asemi-transparent mirror.

In some embodiments the third semi-transparent mirror 207 is a volumeholographic optical element, optionally at a wavelength specific to theone or two or three or more illumination wavelength(s) used fordisplaying the scene.

In some embodiments the field of view of the eye 208 for viewing the CGHimage optionally subtends an angle of approximately 25 degrees side toside. In some embodiments the field of view of the eye 208 for viewingthe CGH image optionally subtends an angle of approximately 2-66 degreesside to side.

In some embodiments a total field of view of the eye 208 optionallyextends an angle of approximately 90 to 150 degrees and more across,from side to side.

It is noted that while the above description of FIG. 2A was providedwith reference to the viewer's left eye, a similar and mirror imageapplies to the viewer's right eye, and a display for the right eye FoVregions is also taught, as can easily be understood by a person ofordinary skill in the art.

In some embodiments a total field of view of two eyes combinedoptionally subtends an angle of approximately 90 to 220 degrees and moreacross, from side to side.

In some embodiments the image display 204 of FIG. 2A is placed on sides,optionally horizontal sides, or both horizontal and vertical sides, ofthe SLM 201, and the light from the image display 204 proceeds throughthe same optical path as the light from the SLM 201.

In some embodiments the image display 204 of FIG. 2A is placed on sides,optionally horizontal sides, or both horizontal and vertical sides, ofthe CGH display rays to form FoV separation as depicted in FIG. 1C.

FIG. 2A has described above, and FIG. 5 will describe below, somenon-limiting examples of how to combine a holographic image and anon-holographic image.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 2B-2F, which are simplified line drawingillustrations of producing a scene according to an example embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example embodiments of a scene 220 for display ina hybrid holographic display constructed according to an exampleembodiment, where a first portion 224 of the scene 220 is optionallydisplayed as a holographic image, and a second portion 222 of the sceneis optionally displayed as an adjacent or surrounding non-holographicimage. In the example of FIG. 2B the first portion 224 shows a butterfly223 at such a distance where eye focus accommodation may be perceived bya viewer, and the butterfly 223 of the first portion 334 is displayed asa holographic image. In the example of FIG. 2B the second portion 222shows a background such as a field of flowers 221 at such a distancewhere eye focus accommodation may not be perceived by a viewer, and thefield of flowers 221 of the second portion 222 is optionally displayedas a non-holographic image, for example a stereoscopic image.

In some embodiments the portions 222 224 may be rectangular, as shown inFIG. 2B. in some embodiments the portions 222 224 includes just a shapeof an object, for example the first portion 224 may include just theshape of the butterfly 223 and the second portion 222 may include justthe shape of the field of flowers 221.

FIG. 2C shows an example of the first portion 224 which the SLM 201 ofFIG. 2A may be used to display, which FIG. 2D shows an example of thesecond portion 222 which the image display 204 may be used to display,resulting in a combined hybrid holographic and stereoscopic image.

In some embodiments the SLM 201 of FIG. 2A may be used to provide, inaddition to the first portion 224 which includes the butterfly 223, adark background for a stereoscopic view of the field of flowers 221.

FIG. 2E shows an example of the first portion 224 which the SLM 201 ofFIG. 2A may be used to display, including a dark area to serve as a darkbackground for combining with the second portion 222.

In some embodiments the image display 204 may be used to provide, inaddition to the second portion 222 which includes the field of flowers221, a dark background for a holographic image of the butterfly 223.

FIG. 2F shows an example of the second portion 222 which the imagedisplay 204 of FIG. 2A may be used to display, including a dark area toserve as a dark background for combining with the first portion 224.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3A, which is a simplified illustration ofportions of Fields of View of a viewer's left eye, according to anexample embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3A depicts a non-limiting example of portions of FoV as seen from aleft eye and from the viewer's perspective.

FIG. 3A depicts:

a first, inner region 301 of the FoV of the viewer's left eye;

a second, in-side more-peripheral region 302 of the FoV of the viewer'sleft eye, toward a viewer's nose 307 side; and

a third, out-side more-peripheral region 303 of the FoV of the viewer'sleft eye, away from the nose 307 side.

Optionally, in some embodiments, even-more-peripheral regions are used:

a fourth, out-side even-more-peripheral region 304 of the FoV of theviewer's left eye away from the nose 307 side; and

a fifth, in-side even-more-peripheral region 305 of the FoV of theviewer's left eye toward a viewer's nose 307 side.

In some embodiments a display for the viewer's left eye may display ascene in which the different FoV portions 301 302 303 (and optionally304 305) may optionally display the scene using different techniques,such as holographic and/or stereoscopic and/or monoscopic, and/oroptionally using different resolutions of display at the different FoVportions 301 302 303 (and optionally 304 305).

It is noted that while the above description was provided with referenceto the viewer's left eye, a similar and mirror image applies to theviewer's right eye, and a display for the right eye FoV regions is alsotaught, as can easily be understood by a person of ordinary skill in theart.

In some embodiments the widths of the regions 301 302 303 304 305 is notnecessarily the same, and as many as all of the regions may be ofdifferent widths.

In some embodiments the width of the first region 301 corresponds to theviewer's foveal vision region.

The human foveal region spans approximately 5 degrees. In someembodiments the width of the first region 301 is made to span more thanthe human foveal region, which provides a potential advantage that thereis less need or urgency for tracking the human pupil and keeping thefirst region 301 on the viewer's fovea.

In some embodiments the angle spanned by the first region 301 isapproximately 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, 20 degrees, 25 degrees,and even more.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3B, which is a simplified illustration ofportions of Fields of View of a viewer's combined left and right eyevision, according to an example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3B depicts a non-limiting example of portions of FoV as seen withtwo eyes from the viewer's perspective.

FIG. 3B depicts a first, inner region 311 of the viewer's FoV usingcombined vision with two eyes, typically with both eyes looking toward asame location and a second, more-peripheral region 312 of the viewer'sFoV.

FIG. 3B also depicts a third, even-more-peripheral region 313 of theviewer's FoV.

In some embodiments a display for the viewer's combined vision displaysa scene in which the different FoV portions 311 312 (and optionally 313)may optionally display the scene using different techniques, such asholographic and/or stereoscopic and/or monoscopic, and/or optionallyusing different resolutions of display at the different FoV portions 311312 (and optionally 313).

Reference is now made to FIG. 3C, which is a simplified illustration ofportions of a Field of View of a viewer's left eye, according to anexample embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3C depicts a non-limiting example of portions of FoV as seen from aviewer's perspective.

FIG. 3C depicts:

a first, inner region 321L of the FoV of the viewer's left eye;

a second, in-side more-peripheral region 322L of the FoV of the viewer'sleft eye; and

a third, out-side more-peripheral region 323L of the FoV of the viewer'sleft eye.

FIG. 3C also depicts border lines 325L 326L 327L between the in-side andthe out-side more-peripheral regions of the FoV of the left eye.

In some example embodiments the border line may pass in the middle ofthe left eye's FoV, such as the border line 327L. In some exampleembodiments the border line may pass further out from the middle of theleft eye's FoV, such as the border line 326L. In some exampleembodiments the border line may pass even further out from the middle ofthe left eye's FoV, such as the border line 325L.

In some embodiments the area spanned by the first, inner region 321L ofthe FoV of the viewer's left eye corresponds to the viewer's left eyefoveal vision region.

In some embodiments the angle spanned by the first, inner region 321L ofthe FoV of the viewer's left eye is in a range of approximately 5 to 25,30, or 35 degrees or more.

In some example embodiments still-more-peripheral regions may be defined(not shown in FIG. 3C), and in some example embodiments thestill-more-peripheral regions of the FoV may be divided by border linesinto in-side and out-side still-more-peripheral regions of the FoV.

It is noted that while the above description was provided with referenceto the viewer's left eye, a similar and mirror image applies to theviewer's right eye, and a display for the right eye FoV regions is alsotaught, as can easily be understood by a person of ordinary skill in theart.

Reference is again made to FIG. 2A. As described above, in someembodiments, illumination for the image display 204 may be projectedalong and optionally through the same components as the light projectedfrom the SLM 211, and eventually be reflected off the secondsemi-transparent mirror 206 onto the image display 204, which reflectsthe light as the additional light 215.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which is a simplified line drawingillustration of illumination fields or regions for the SLM of FIG. 2Aand the image display of FIG. 2A, according to an example embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 shows a first, central illumination region 401 for the SLM(reference 201 of FIG. 2A) illumination, a second illumination region402 for a left region of the image display 204 of FIG. 2A, and a thirdillumination region 403 for a right region of the image display 204 ofFIG. 2A.

It is noted that while the above descriptions of FIGS. 3A-3C and 4 wereprovided with reference to the viewer's left eye, a similar and mirrorimage description applies to the viewer's right eye, and a display forthe right eye FoV regions as well as two display for displaying to botheyes are also taught, as can easily be understood by a person ofordinary skill in the art.

It is noted that while the above descriptions of FIGS. 3A-3C and 4 wereprovided with reference to segmenting a field of view into segmentsalong a horizontal direction, the field of view may be segmented alongthe vertical direction, also into a central higher-resolution segmentand one or more surrounding lower resolution segment(s) as can beunderstood by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 2A described an example embodiment of a system for displaying ascene combining a central portion of the scene near a center of a FoVdisplayed as a holographic image from a holographic image display,surrounded by an additional portion of the scene displayed as anadditional image from an additional display.

An additional example embodiment of such a system is now described. Evenmore implementations may be understood by persons skilled in the art,based on the example embodiments taught herein.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which is a simplified example of adisplay system 500 for displaying a scene combining a central portion ofthe scene near a center of a FoV displayed as a holographic image from aholographic image display, surrounded by an additional portion of thescene displayed as an additional image from an additional display,according to an example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows an example embodiment for implementing the concept of ascene including a central holographic image surrounded by one or moreadditional images.

FIG. 5 shows components of the example embodiment: a coherent lightilluminator 501 (one or more wavelengths); a Spatial Light Modulator(SLM) 502; one or more first optional optical component(s) 503; an imagedisplay 504 a 504 b; an optional illuminator 505; one or more secondoptional optical component(s) 506; one or more third optional opticalcomponent(s) 508; a first mirror 509; a secondsemi-transparent/semi-reflective mirror 510; and a third mirror 511.

In some embodiments the image display(s) 504 a 504 b may be a flatdisplay projecting images, such as, by way of a non-limiting example, aLED display or a LCOS display. In some embodiments the image display(s)504 a 504 b may be a flat display with a hole in the middle for allowingthe modulated light from the SLM 502 to pass through. In someembodiments the image display(s) 504 a 504 b may be two or more flatdisplays with a space between the image display(s) 504 a 504 b forallowing the modulated light from the SLM 502 to pass through.

In some embodiments an optional aperture stop is optionally placed in alocation referenced by the reference number 507 in the optical path.

In some embodiments optical components are designed so that an image ofthe SLM 502 is produced in the location referenced by the referencenumber 507 in the optical path.

An example light path through the display system 500 is now described:

The coherent light illuminator 501 projects coherent light 531 (at onewavelength or at or two or three or more wavelengths at differenttimes), which is modulated by the SLM 502 to produce a holographicimage. Modulated light 532 from the SLM 502 may be at a singlewavelength, that is one color, or at more wavelengths at different timeslots, synchronized with values of the SLM pixels. An example ofproducing a holographic image using three colors is described inabove-mentioned U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/298,070.

The modulated light 532 optionally passes through the optional opticalcomponent(s) 503, emerging as modulated light 533 for producing a firstholographic image 521.

The first holographic image 521 is optionally produced in a locationalong the optical path which is approximately at the location of theimage display 504 a 504 b. In FIG. 5 the holographic image 521 is athree-dimensional holographic image of a rose.

In some embodiments the image display(s) 504 a 504 b produces lighttravelling toward the first mirror 509.

In some embodiments the optional illuminator 505 optionally illuminates505 a the image display(s) 504 a 504 b, which reflect light toward thefirst mirror 509.

The modulated light from the SLM also travels toward the first mirror509. The combined light is marked as light 534.

The light 534 optionally passes through the one or more second optionaloptical component(s) 506 emerging as light 534 a and through the one ormore third optional optical component(s) 508 emerging as light 534 b.

The light 534 b continues toward the first mirror 509, and reflects aslight 535 off the first mirror 509 toward the secondsemi-transparent/semi-reflective mirror 510.

In some embodiments the light 535 produces images approximately at thelocation of the second semi-transparent/semi-reflective mirror 510. FIG.5 shows, by way of a non-limiting example, a second holographic image ofa rose 523, reimaged by reflections 536 a 536 b from the firstholographic image of the rose 521, an additional image of a horse 524,and an additional image of trees 525.

The images 523 524 525 reflect 536 a off the secondsemi-transparent/semi-reflective mirror 510 toward the thirdsemi-transparent/semi-reflective mirror 511, and reflect 536 b off thethird mirror 511 toward a viewer's eye 528.

In some embodiments the viewer's eye 528 can view a scene which is acombination of a CGH image produced by the SLM, an additional imageproduced by the image display(s) 504 a 504 b, and a view of the realworld through the third mirror 511, which is optionally asemi-transparent mirror 511, the scene appearing to be in a direction infront of the viewer's eye 528.

In some embodiments the mirror 511 is optionally a magnifying mirror,and the viewer optionally sees the images 523 524 525 as larger and moredistant images 523 b 524 b 525 b.

In some embodiments the CGH image is at different location along theoptical path than display 504 a, and 504 b, which potentially shifts afocus distance of the surrounding images 524 525 524 b 525 b relative tothe focus distance of the CGH image 523 523 b.

It is noted that while the above description of FIG. 5 was provided withreference to one of the viewer's eyes, a similar image applies to theviewer's other eye, and a display for the other eye FoV regions is alsotaught, as can easily be understood by a person of ordinary skill in theart. In some embodiments the display system 500 of FIG. 5 is replicatedfor a viewer's other eye, and the viewer benefits from seeing the sceneof images 523 524 525 or magnified images 523 b 524 b 525 b with botheyes.

In some embodiments the third mirror 511 is fully reflective, and theviewer sees what is termed a “virtual reality” scene.

In some embodiments the third mirror 511 issemi-reflective/semi-transparent, and the viewer also sees, through thethird mirror 511, the real world, combined with the scene the scene ofimages 523 524 525 or magnified images 523 b 524 b 525 b. Such acombination of the real world and a displayed image is termed “augmentedreality”.

In some embodiments the mirror 511 only reflects the illuminatingwavelength while it is transparent to other wavelengths.

In some embodiments the first mirror 509 is optionallysemi-transparent/semi-reflective, and optional pupil tracking components(not shown, but described in above-mentioned U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/298,070) may be included behind the first mirror 509,optionally tracking the viewer's pupil off the intervening opticalcomponents, potentially providing pupil tracking data to a computercontrolling the SLM 502 and the image display(s) 504 a 504 b, therebyoptionally controlling production of the scene.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration of one side, or one eye, of a potentialHead Mounted Display (HMD) where the image display(s) 504 a 504 b areadjacent to a holographic image 521. In some embodiments the location ofthe holographic image 521 may optionally also be a location of azero-order diffraction bright spot blocker.

In some embodiments a tilting mirror, such as the mirror 510, optionallydirects an observing window to the eye 528 even when the viewer shiftsthe eye 528 to look to a different direction. The entire displayed imageincluding the CGH and the stereoscopic FoV are tilted by the tiltingmirror.

In some embodiments the mirror 509 is optionally used to stabilize theimages 523 524 525 523 b 524 b 525 b against head movements.

In some embodiments the mirror 509 is optionally used to maintain theCGH image in the FoV of the fovea even if the viewer moves his/her eyesaway from a central axis direction.

In some embodiments an additional SLM tilting mirror (not shown) isoptionally added to stabilize the images 523 524 525 523 b 524 b 525 bagainst head movements. The SLM tilting mirror is optionally imaged to apupil of the observer's eye 528. When the SLM tilting mirror is tiltedthe images 523 524 525 523 b 524 b 525 b shift to different parts of theeye 528 FoV. Such tilting is optionally used to stabilize the displayedscene in the FoV, including both the holographic image and theadditional, optionally stereoscopic regions of the FoV.

In some embodiments the SLM mirror is optionally used to expand a timeaverage FoV by fast tilting and instantaneously projecting parts of thescene to increase FoV at a cost of a time-averaged intensity.

Additional Aspects

In some embodiments in order to camouflage a border between a centralholographic image in a scene and a surrounding additional image, theholographic image and the surrounding image are optionally produced atsimilar levels of image brightness. In some embodiments, the imagebrightness is controlled by controlling an intensity of lightilluminating the SLM and illuminating the additional image display. Insome embodiments, the image brightness is controlled by illuminatingboth the SLM for producing the holographic image and the additionaldisplay for producing the additional image with the same coherentillumination. In some embodiments, because of the coherent illumination,interference speckles may appear which may reduce image quality of thescene.

In some embodiments, to reduce or eliminate interference speckles, anoptical path length difference between the CGH image and the surrounding(optionally stereoscopic) image is produced, typically longer than acoherence length of the coherent illumination. Such an optical pathlength difference reduces or eliminates fringes or speckles at theboundary between the two images.

In some embodiments the optical path difference is produced by placingthe image display(s) 504 a at a different location along the opticalpath than the location of the first holographic image 521. The differentlocations are preferably different by a distance greater than acoherence distance of the coherent illumination.

In some embodiments the optical path difference is produced byseparating the illumination of the image display(s) 504 a from theillumination of the SLM 502, and causing one of the illumination pathsof the coherent illumination to be different from the other by adistance greater than a coherence distance of the coherent illumination.

In some embodiments, two coherent light sources are used forilluminating the SLM and the additional display. Such embodiments alsoreduce or eliminate potential interference, since a coherence time ofeach of the coherent light sources, for example lasers, is typically ata nanosecond scale.

In some embodiments, a diffuser is placed in the optical path thatsmears the speckles, optionally at a frequency greater than 20 Hz whichis a typical time of response of a human eye.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which is a simplified flow chartillustration of a method for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV) sceneincluding a holographic image within the scene.

The method of FIG. 6 includes:

displaying a first holographic image at a center of a displayed scene(602); and

displaying a first additional image peripheral to the first holographicimage (604).

In some embodiments a viewer's pupil is tracked, and an optical systemfor displaying the first holographic image is controlled to display thefirst holographic image to the viewer's pupil.

In some embodiments the first additional image is a lower spatialresolution display than the first holographic image.

In some embodiments the first additional image is a stereoscopic image.

In some embodiments the first additional image is a second holographicimage. The second holographic image may optionally be at a lowerresolution than the first holographic image, and may optionally bedisplayed to an area of the viewer's eye which sees at a lowerresolution, by way of some non-limiting examples away from the center ofthe viewer's FoV, and/or peripheral to the center of the viewer's FoV,and/or surrounding the first holographic image.

In some embodiments a second additional image is displayed, optionallyadjacent to and/or peripheral and/or surrounding the first additionalimage.

In some embodiments the second additional image is a stereoscopic image.

In some embodiments the first holographic image and the additionalimage(s) are displayed by a Head Mounted Display (HMD).

In some embodiments the displaying a first holographic image and theadditional image(s) includes displaying two first holographic imageseach one at a center of a displayed scene to each one of two eyes anddisplaying two additional images, or two sets of additional images toeach one of the two eyes.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which is a simplified flow chartillustration of a method for displaying a wide Field of View (FoV) sceneincluding an interference based holographic image within the scene,according to an example embodiment of the invention.

The method of FIG. 7 includes:

setting pixel values in a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) for producing aComputer Generated Hologram (CGH) (702);

illuminating the SLM with coherent light, thereby producing a firstinterference based holographic image (704);

setting pixel values in a first additional image display for producing afirst additional image (706);

illuminating the first additional image display, thereby producing afirst additional image (708); and

allowing a real view of a real world to be viewable through and aroundthe first holographic image and the first additional image (710),

wherein

the first holographic image is projected toward a viewer's fovea;

the first additional image is displayed as part of the scene andadjacent to the first holographic image; and

the real view of a real world is also viewable as part of the scene.

In some embodiments, the first holographic image is displayed at acenter of a scene; and the first additional image is displayed as partof the scene and adjacent to the first holographic image.

In some embodiments, a viewer's pupil is tracked and the displaying thefirst holographic image is controlled to display the first holographicimage to the viewer's pupil.

In some embodiments the displaying the first holographic image and thesecond additional image is performed by a Head Mounted Display (HMD).

In some embodiments, the displaying the first holographic image includesdisplaying two first holographic images, each one at a center of adisplayed scene to each one of two eyes, and the displaying the secondadditional image includes displaying two first additional images to eachone of the two eyes.

It is expected that during the life of a patent maturing from thisapplication many relevant SLMs, head mounted displays and image displayswill be developed and the scope of the terms SLMs, head mounted displaysand image displays is intended to include all such new technologies apriori.

As used herein the term “about” refers to ±50%.

The terms “comprising”, “including”, “having” and their conjugates mean“including but not limited to”.

The term “consisting of” is intended to mean “including and limited to”.

The term “consisting essentially of” means that the composition, methodor structure may include additional ingredients, steps and/or parts, butonly if the additional ingredients, steps and/or parts do not materiallyalter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition,method or structure.

As used herein, the singular form “a”, “an” and “the” include pluralreferences unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example,the term “a unit” or “at least one unit” may include a plurality ofunits, including combinations thereof.

The words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to mean “serving asan example, instance or illustration”. Any embodiment described as an“example or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferredor advantageous over other embodiments and/or to exclude theincorporation of features from other embodiments.

The word “optionally” is used herein to mean “is provided in someembodiments and not provided in other embodiments”. Any particularembodiment of the invention may include a plurality of “optional”features unless such features conflict.

Throughout this application, various embodiments of this invention maybe presented in a range format. It should be understood that thedescription in range format is merely for convenience and brevity andshould not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the description of a range should be consideredto have specifically disclosed all the possible sub-ranges as well asindividual numerical values within that range. For example, descriptionof a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specificallydisclosed sub-ranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numberswithin that range, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This appliesregardless of the breadth of the range.

Whenever a numerical range is indicated herein, it is meant to includeany cited numeral (fractional or integral) within the indicated range.The phrases “ranging/ranges between” a first indicate number and asecond indicate number and “ranging/ranges from” a first indicate number“to” a second indicate number are used herein interchangeably and aremeant to include the first and second indicated numbers and all thefractional and integral numerals therebetween.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in thecontext of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or inany suitable sub-combination or as suitable in any other describedembodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the contextof various embodiments are not to be considered essential features ofthose embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without thoseelements.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modificationsand variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scopeof the appended claims.

It is the intent of the applicant(s) that all publications, patents andpatent applications referred to in this specification are to beincorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, asif each individual publication, patent or patent application wasspecifically and individually noted when referenced that it is to beincorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation oridentification of any reference in this application shall not beconstrued as an admission that such reference is available as prior artto the present invention. To the extent that section headings are used,they should not be construed as necessarily limiting. In addition, anypriority document(s) of this application is/are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its/their entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for displaying a wide Field of View(FoV) scene including a three-dimensional image within the scene,comprising: a head mounted display (HMD) comprising: a first display forproducing a first, three-dimensional (3D) portion of a scene; an opticalsystem for imaging the first 3D image toward a center of a viewer'sfield-of-view (FOV); a second display for producing a differentresolution second image of a second portion of the scene next to thefirst 3D image; and wherein the optical system is arranged to allow theviewer a real view of the real world through the optical system, therebycombining a view of the first 3D image, the second image and the realworld.
 2. The system of claim 1, and further comprising a viewer pupiltracking component for tracking the viewer's pupil and wherein theviewer pupil tracking component provides data for controlling the firstdisplay and the optical system for displaying the first 3D image to thecenter of the viewer's FOV.
 3. The system of claim 1, in which thesecond display comprises a lower spatial resolution display than thefirst display.
 4. The system of claim 1, in which the second displaycomprises a display for producing a stereoscopic image.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, in which the second display comprises an SLM for producing a 3Dimage.
 6. The system of claim 1, in which the optical system forproducing the first 3D image and the second display for producing thesecond image are configured to display the first 3D image and the secondimage spanning together a total angle in a range of 60-110 degrees. 7.The system of claim 1, in which two instances of first displays, twooptical systems, and two instances of second displays are configured todisplay the first 3D image and the second image to the viewer's two eyesspanning an angle in a range of 90-200 degrees.
 8. The system of claim 1in which the optical system is configured to display the first 3D imagespanning an angle in a range of 5-35 degrees.
 9. The system of claim 1,in which: the first display and the optical system for producing thefirst 3D image comprises two Spatial Light Modulators (SLMs) and twooptical systems, for producing two first 3D images, one for each one ofa viewer's two eyes; and the second display for producing the secondimage next to the first 3D image comprises two image displays forproducing at least two second images each one next to each one of thefirst 3D images.
 10. The system of claim 1 and further comprising acontrollable tilting mirror, and wherein: imaging the first 3D imagetoward a center of a viewer's field-of-view (FOV) comprises imaging thefirst 3D image on the controllable tilting mirror and re-imaging thefirst 3D image toward the center of the viewer's FOV; and the seconddisplay is located next to the controllable tilting mirror, arranged todisplay the second image next to the first 3D image.
 11. A method fordisplaying a wide Field of View (FoV) scene including athree-dimensional image within the scene, the method comprising: settingpixel values in a first display for producing a first three-dimensional(3D) image; illuminating the first display with light, thereby producingthe first 3D image; setting pixel values in a second display forproducing a second image; and illuminating the second display, therebyproducing the second image, wherein the first 3D image is displayed at acenter of a scene; and the second image is displayed to a viewer'sretina, away from a center of the viewer's field-of-view (FOV), as partof the scene and next to the first 3D image.
 12. The method of claim 11and further comprising allowing a real view of the real world to beviewable through and around the first 3D image and the second image,wherein the real view of the real world is also viewable as part of thescene.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein the first 3D image provides,for each object in the first 3D image, at least two depth cues: acorrect eye focus accommodation; and a correct eye convergence.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the first 3D image is displayed withoutcausing a vergence-accommodation conflict for the viewer.
 15. The methodof claim 11, and further comprising: tracking the viewer's pupil; andcontrolling the displaying the first 3D image to direct the first 3Dimage to the center of the viewer's field-of-view (FOV) using adirection-adjustable optical element.
 16. The method of claim 11, inwhich the second image comprises a lower spatial resolution display thanthe first 3D image.
 17. The method of claim 11, in which the secondimage comprises a stereoscopic image intended for one of the viewer'seyes.
 18. The method of claim 11, in which the second image comprises a3D image.
 19. The method of claim 11, in which: the displaying the first3D image comprises displaying two first 3D images each one to each oneof two viewer's eyes; and the displaying the second image next to thefirst 3D image comprises displaying two second images, each one next toeach one of the first 3D images.